Today's episode of A New Beginning is brought to you by Harvest Partners, helping people everywhere know God. Learn more at harvest.org.
And while you're there, browse our library of free eBooks designed to help you grow in your faith. Have you noticed how problems always seem bigger in the middle of the night? They can overwhelm us. They can rob us of sleep and steal our peace. In the middle of the night, when we can't figure out what to do, we need to remember that God works the night shift.
He's up all night anyway. Why not cast our cares on Him? Today on A New Beginning, Pastor Greg Laurie returns to the Sermon on the Mount for great reassurance from Jesus Himself for worry-free days and restful nights. Grab your Bibles and turn to Matthew chapter 6, and the title of my message is, What Jesus Says About Worry and Anxiety.
Matthew chapter 6, starting in verse 25. I say to you to not worry about everyday life, whether you have enough food and drink or clothes to wear. Isn't life more than food and your body more than clothing? Look at the birds. They don't plant or harvest or store food in barns, but your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren't you more valuable to Him than they are?
Can you, with all of your worries, add a single moment to your life? Why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field, how they grow. They don't work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all of his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. So if God so cares for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, He certainly cares for you.
Why don't you have more faith? Don't worry about these things, saying, What will we eat? What will we drink?
What will we wear? These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father knows all your needs. This is the big verse.
Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. So don't worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today's trouble is enough for today.
Wow. Point number one, if you're taking notes, the believer should not worry. The believer should not worry. Jesus was not saying that Christians should not think about or be concerned with the needs of their life, including housing, food, and clothing, because the fact is elsewhere in Scripture we're told to plan for the future. We're told to work hard.
We're told to save our money. Jesus was saying, Don't worry about these things. Don't worry, He says in verse 25, about everyday life. A better translation would be, Stop having anxiety about this. It's one thing to think about it. It's another thing to have constant anxiety about it. Listen, worry is not a virtue. Let me take it a step further. Worry can actually be a sin.
Why? Because worry is really a lack of trust in God. You're not trusting God. I mean, if you believe Genesis 1-1, that should deal with worry once and for all. What is Genesis 1-1?
It says, In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. How many of you believe that verse? It's true.
Okay, I do too. If that is true, and of course it is, that God created the heavens and the earth, this all-knowing, all-powerful, sovereign God, then certainly He is able to deal with your problems and mine. So why then am I worrying about them? Number two, worry is a lack of trust. It's not believing God's in control. Classic example of this is the prophet Daniel. He was called by God to be an advisor to King Darius. And Darius really valued the counsel of Daniel. Darius thought very highly of Daniel. And the other counselors to the king were jealous of Daniel's influence.
And so they wanted to undermine him and they made up things that were not true about him. And then they hatched a plot to get the king to sign a decree that no one could pray to anyone except the king or they would have to die. Well, Daniel had a habit of prayer.
Good habit. Every day he would pray. In fact, three times a day he would pray.
And so after he read this decree, you can no longer pray, he prayed. And then he was arrested. And he was put into a den of hungry lions. And an interesting thing happened that night. The king was up all night. He couldn't sleep worrying about Daniel and Daniel slept like a baby. Probably used one of the lions for a pillow.
Propped his feet upon the other one. And so that's the difference between a believer and a non-believer. When chaos and turmoil is happening around us, a believer can be at rest but a non-believer cannot.
The Bible says he gives to his beloved sleep. Number three, worry does not make life longer, it just makes it more miserable. Worry does not make life longer, it just makes it more miserable. Verse 27, get all of your worries at a single moment to your life. Now there are obviously things that we can do to bring our life to an end sooner than we should living dangerously or living in a very unhealthy manner. But by and large, the Bible is saying God's in control of your life.
Your days are numbered, the Bible says, so help me apply my heart to wisdom. God's in control of that. By worrying about that, you're not going to extend the length of your life.
So don't worry about it. Number four, instead of worry, put God and his will first in your life. Instead of worrying, put God and his will first in your life. Matthew 6 33, seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things shall be added to you. So put God first in your life.
In the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 6 22, Jesus says if your eye is single, your whole body will be full of light. What does that mean? It means if you're focused on what matters, it will affect you in everything that you do. So seek first the kingdom. So in your business, you want to seek first the kingdom. Now look, some of you are getting ready to go to college or maybe trade school or being an apprentice somewhere. You're thinking about your career, what you're going to do down the road, that's a good thing.
Find that job and maybe that will change a number of times, it often does. But no matter what you do, do it for the glory of God. Our goal should be to honor God, do honest work with excellence, have personal integrity and a good testimony in the workplace. Because sometimes people may be successful financially, but to get there they've lost their integrity, they've lost their reputation.
You should be an honest person, you should be a trustworthy person, you should be a hard working person, your word should be your bond. And sometimes this is not the case, you know sometimes Christians will use spiritual things to justify laziness. Maybe the boss is walking around on the work site and you're just standing around, the boss says what are you doing, you should be working. Well I'm praying. Oh, you might start praying about your next job because you're not you're not working for me anymore, I expect you to work.
And that's a realistic expectation. Christians should be the hardest workers, the most honest workers, and so this is something we want to all keep in mind. Put God first and he will bless you as a result. Now listen, if you're single, how many of you are single, you're not married, raise your hand, you're single, okay. How many of you are happily single, you like being single, okay. How many of you would like to be married one day who are single, okay. How many of you are married and wish you were single, no don't.
Don't you, it's always a guy that does it and sure enough a guy had his hand up first. When you're looking for that person, know this, God cares about this. He has a lot to say about the person you will spend the rest of your life with. So pray about this and look for a godly person. You know some people believe they're called the missionary dating, right. I'm going to date these non-believers and lead them to the Lord, maybe. And maybe they'll pull you away from the Lord. See the Bible says don't be unequally yoked together with non-believers for what fellowship or friendship does light have with darkness or righteousness with unrighteousness.
It's far easier when you're a believer to get pulled down than you as a believer to pull someone else up because they have gravity on their side, you see. And I've seen so many Christians get misled and get into trouble by getting into these relationships. Listen, honest truth, marriage is hard enough with two Christians much less a believer and a non-believer. You want someone that shares your beliefs, your faith, your worldview, your values.
It doesn't really matter when you have children, okay. So these are things to think about now but if you find yourself married to a non-believer, however that came about, don't give up hope. God can still reach that person, keep praying for them, but the idea is put God first if you're a single person and ask for his will. Pastor Greg Laurie will have the second half of his message in just a moment. It's such a blessing to hear from listeners who take time to express their appreciation. I started listening to Pastor Greg when I first became a Christian in the 1980s but then I got so busy in ministry in my church that I didn't really listen very much.
Then COVID hit and life slowed down. I started listening to Pastor Greg again and I'm so glad I did. His solid preaching with his great sense of humor along with his heart for evangelism keeps me encouraged in my faith. I'm so thankful there are pastors like him still out there. I pray every day for Pastor Greg, his family, church, and ministry.
It's a privilege to bring these studies your way. If you'd like to share a comment with Pastor Greg, call us and let us know. Call 1-866-871-1144.
That's 866-871-1144. Pastor Greg is offering a series of points today to help us live a worry-free life. Insights drawn from the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 6. Point number five, if you put God first, life will find its proper balance. If you put God first, life will find its proper balance. Again, verse 33, Matthew 6. All these things shall be added to you. What things?
What you're going to eat, what you're going to wear, what you're going to drink, where you're going to live. All the things that are important to us will be taken care of but put God first. A classic example of this is the story of young Solomon, the son of David and Bathsheba. His father was getting ill and getting old and it was time for the crown to be passed on from father to son. And David said, Solomon my son, know the Lord God of your father and serve him with an undivided heart. So David passed into eternity and now here's young Solomon with the weight of the world on his shoulders. And the Lord comes to him and says Solomon ask me and I'll give you whatever you want. Can you imagine if God appeared to you and said I'll give you whatever you want?
What would you pray for if God said I'll give you whatever you want? Reminds me of a story of a man that was walking down the beach and he saw something embedded in the sand. He reached down to pick it up it was a lamp and as he rubbed the sand away a genie appeared.
True story. And the genie said oh master I will give to you one wish. The guy said one wish what happened to three wishes?
The genie said we better cut back just one wish. Oh well the guy says I've always wanted to see the island of Maui. I've heard it's really beautiful but I don't like to fly.
I'm afraid of flying. So genie my wish is they have a giant bridge built from California to Maui so I can drive over. That's my wish. I want a bridge from California to Maui. The genie said are you insane? That would cost so much money it would take so much time.
There's no way come up with something else. The guy said well I've never understood women. They mystify me.
I would like to understand them better. So my wish genie is I want to understand women. The genie says coming back to that bridge two lanes or four. Okay so back to Solomon. The Lord says what do you want?
I'll give you anything you want. Solomon says Lord I want wisdom to rule your people. This paraphrase the Lord says because you didn't ask for wealth or power and all these things. I'm going to give you the wisdom you prayed for and give you these other things as well. I'm not saying that God's going to make everyone wealthy but what I'm saying is God will give you what you need when you need it. Just put him first in all things.
That's it. Another way to seek first the kingdom of God is with your finances. Because where a man's treasure is there will his heart be also. So when you invest in the kingdom. When you get paid and you say a percentage of this belongs to the Lord and I'm going to give it. I'm going to tithe this and even above that tithe I'm going to give an offering. That's a person who is seeking first the kingdom.
Do that as well. God will bless you. He promises he will.
And there's one last point and we'll bring this message to a close. The best antidote to worry is prayer. The best antidote to worry is prayer. We all know this verse Philippians verse six. Don't be anxious about anything but in everything by prayer with petition and thanksgiving present your request to God. I love that.
Another way it's translated. Don't worry about anything. Pray about everything and the peace of God that passes all human understanding will guard your heart and mind in Christ Jesus.
And I love that phrase guard because it suggests a Roman sentry. Like a centurion guarding the door of your heart. God's peace will protect you if you pray about it instead of worry about it. So turn your panic into prayer. Turn your worry into worship.
Turn your anxieties into petitions. Lord I'm troubled by this right now and I just committed to you. I'm overwhelmed by this other thing Lord.
I committed to you. It's like the moment it hits you boom it goes right back up as a prayer to God. That's the one to turn to. You know people turn in different directions when troubles come. Some turn to other people and there's a place for people. There's a place for your family.
A place for your friends. Others turn to drink. I'll just drink this to make it better. No that'll just make it worse and create a lot of other problems. You need to turn to God. Take your burdens and give them to God and listen to this. Everything that I have said is for a Christian only.
These are not just self-help tips for you. These are promises to the believer. Promises to the follower of Jesus Christ. So I need to seek first the kingdom but before I can seek the kingdom I need to enter into the kingdom.
You say I don't even know what that means all right. Jesus said to a religious man named Nicodemus in John 3. You must be born again born again to enter the kingdom of God. You see here's what it comes down to. If you're born once you'll die twice and if you're born twice you'll die once.
Does that make sense? Okay if you're born once physically you'll die twice. You'll die physically and then you'll face what the Bible calls the second death. The second death is when you stand before the judgment of God in eternity. But if you're born twice physically and then you're born again spiritually by putting your faith in Jesus Christ you die once. Yes death comes. But the Christian doesn't even have to be afraid of death because death is not the end. It's not the end.
It's a transition but it's not the end. Because I leave this place and go to another place and if I'm a believer that other place is my Father's house. It's heaven. Because I've been born again. Because death died when Christ rose. This is the hope that we have. The believer never dies technically.
Go Greg you're delusional. Everyone dies. Yeah but understand. Jesus said I am the resurrection and the life he that believes in me though he were dead. Yet shall he live and whosoever lives and believes in me shall never die. Then I love what he said after that. Do you believe this?
He has that. So yes the body goes into the ground unless the Lord comes for us first which could happen in our lifetime in what we call the rapture of the church. But if that does not happen yes the body dies but the soul lives on and the Bible even promises a bodily resurrection. So we don't have to be afraid of these things but you need to have Christ living inside of you and I ask you is he living in your life? I mentioned a few moments ago that the believer can be at rest even when things are in turmoil around them like Daniel in the lion's den. Only the believer can have this rest. The non-believer listen if you're not a Christian you ought to be afraid. If you're not a Christian frankly you probably should be worried and very concerned with all the things going on in our world right now.
But if you're a Christian you can be at peace and rest knowing God is in control. So I want to close by offering you an opportunity to believe in Jesus Christ. An opportunity to be forgiven of all of your sin. An opportunity to come into this relationship with God so you can be born again. To be born again means to be born from above. It's a spiritual birth starting all over again. Jesus who died on that cross for our sin and rose again from the dead stands at the door of our life right now and he knocks and says if we'll hear his voice and open the door he'll come in. Have you asked Jesus Christ to come into your life yet? This is all about a relationship with God. This is for you.
Someone else can't do this for you. You need to say Jesus come into my life and he will. And we're going to close now with a prayer and I'm going to extend an opportunity for you to ask Jesus into your life. Let's all pray. Father thank you for your word to us. Thank you for your promises to us. But we must know you first. We must be born again. And I pray for any person here.
Any person watching listening wherever they are. If they don't have this relationship with you let it begin right here right now as they open their heart and ask you to come into their life. Now while our heads are bowed and our eyes are closed and we're praying. If you would like Jesus Christ to come into your life. If you would like him to forgive you of your sin. If you would like to know that you will go to heaven when you die. If you would like to be born again as Jesus says you must be. Pray this prayer after me.
You can pray out loud if you like even. Just pray these words. Lord Jesus I know that I'm a sinner. But I know that you're the Savior who died on the cross for my sin and rose again from the dead. I turn from my sin now and I choose to follow you Jesus from this moment forward. Be my Savior and my Lord. Be my God and my friend. In Jesus name I pray.
Amen. Pastor Greg Laurie with an important prayer with those making a decision for the Lord on today's edition of A New Beginning. And if you've just prayed that prayer and meant those words sincerely the Lord has heard you and forgiven you of your sin. And we want to help you get started in your newfound faith. We want to send you Pastor Greg's New Believers Bible.
It's a unique edition of God's Word with scores of helps that address the questions you might have and help you build a solid foundation for your faith. We'll send it without charge. Just ask for the New Believers Bible when you call 1-800-821-3300. That's a 24-7 phone number 1-800-821-3300. Or write A New Beginning, Box 4000, Riverside, California 92514.
Or go online to harvest.org. You know Pastor Greg our listeners know that we bring them the best resources for undergirding their walk with the Lord and equipping them to share their faith. And today of course is a case in point. We're not just offering a book of minimum locado. We're offering a book of max locado. Max locado.
That's a bit of a stretch. It's max locado all the time. Now that's a name most of us know and if you don't I don't know where you've been. He's written 50 books and 150 million of them are somewhere because people have bought them all around the world and have been blessed by them. So when max writes a new book I'm always interested. But I have to be honest with you when max told me he was writing this book I was really interested.
And let me tell you why. Because I love the way that max approaches things. It's unique.
God's given him a unique gifting of making the complex simple and of drawing us closer to the Lord in his writing. Sometimes in Bible prophecy when people teach on it it's alarmist. It's exploitive.
It's done in a wrong way and it's even scary. Listen I've read a lot of books on end times events and immediately I was gripped by the way this book is written. It pulls you right in. It's that classic style that max has when he writes but it's unique it's fresh and you're gonna love it. I'm telling you of all the things we've offered over the years this is something that may be the most important of all because of the topic and who's writing on the topic. The topic is the end times and the title of this book is what happens next and the author is max lucado. So max what prompted you to write a book on this subject? You know as I've looked back like you Greg I've been doing this quite a while and I realized I could have taught on this more. And so I'm at that time in my life you know where I'm realizing I don't know how many more years I'll I'm good I'm like you Greg I want to I want to go to heaven from the pulpit I don't want to stop preaching but I want I want to make sure I've represented the Lord well and when I read that that about 30 percent of the bible is prophecy much of which has yet to be fulfilled I realized that did not match my preaching you know I've not dedicated 30 of my teaching to end times so I wanted to have one good opportunity to do that and so I I preached 16 weeks in a row at our church on the topic of of end times and what we found it's the most evangelistic series that we've ever had people are ready people want to know you don't have to convince people number one that the world is a mess and really don't have to convince people number two that they're a mess without Christ down deep they know this and so what we're doing by giving them a view of end times is is helping them have a way to face the future with faith you know when you equip people with information about the future you're giving them power to face the present I remember some time ago I got stuck on a tarmac you've probably had this happen I spent four hours on a tarmac in Chicago in the dead of night in the middle of a storm and it was terrible it was terrible because the pilot said so little I kept wanting him to come on the intercom and say okay here's where we are here's what's going to happen we were stuck there I think many people feel stuck in life they're trapped and they look outside they see lightning and storms and they wonder if they're ever going to move what we need is the pilot and in our case our pilot has spoken our Lord has spoken he has spoken abundantly about what to expect again like you've said never to scare us but always to prepare us and to tell us it is tough this world you're going to have a lot of tribulation a lot of turbulence but you can be of good cheer I've overcome the world and the best of life is yet to be. So you're listening to Max Lucado he's written a brand new book called what happens next and in a way I think considering the fact that you haven't written extensively on this subject perhaps this will cause people to say I really want to hear what Lucado has to say about this. This is something that you're looking at with I think fresh eyes with a wonderful perspective and it's something that's going to be a blessing to everyone who reads it so we've got a copy with your name on it here at a new beginning it's called what happens next the new book on end times events that we'll send to you for your gift of any size yeah that's right you'll love this new book you'll be so glad you read the book thanks for investing in the work we do here each day on a new beginning we're reaching so many people with the gospel each and every day and to thank you tangibly let us send you max's book what happens next you can call us at 1-800-821-3300 that's 1-800-821-3300 or write us at a new beginning box 4000 riverside california 92514 or just go online to harvest.org hey everybody greg lorry here you know making a will is something people often put off but it's really important to plan ahead in fact it's so important we've designated the month of august as national make a will month that means that this is the perfect time to start thinking through your estate planning and i'm happy to announce we've partnered with our friends at freewill to make it easier than ever freewill is an easy to use estate planning tool that allows you to make planned gifts to organizations of your choice it's a creative opportunity to support the work that we're doing here at harvest ministries as we preach the gospel and teach god's work so as you make your plans i hope you'll consider investing in this ministry helping us to continue to bring god's word to our generation you can learn more at freewill.com slash harvest well next time a special time of discussion with max locato pastor greg invites him into the studio for a revealing conversation about god's plan for the end times join us here on a new beginning with pastor and bible teacher greg lord hey everybody thanks for listening to a new beginning this is a podcast made possible by harvest partners so for more content that can help you know god and equip you to make him known to others or to learn more about how you can become a harvest partner just go to harvest dot org
